User Research Training
Two in-depth user research courses.
One complete pathway.
Presenting two complementary, highly practical courses. Built from 15+ years of running high-stakes research for the public, private, and charity sectors. Aligned with GDS and SFIA frameworks to deliver the UK’s gold standard in user-centred design-research training.
Course 1: User Research Essentials rehearses the craft in a supportive, low-stakes environment using peer-to-peer exercises, AI tools and re-usable templates.
Course 2: User Research Practitioner moves you on to the real-world experience of running a real research session, putting you in front of actual participants with live coaching.
Take either course on its own based on your current experience, or book both together as a comprehensive training pathway.
Practical instructor-led training with small cohorts
To keep the training active and engaging, we limit our cohorts to 12 people working in small groups on practical exercises throughout the course. There are no long, passive lectures and no hiding behind a muted screen - it is all about gaining practical experience that you can use straight away in your job.
Course 1: User Research Essentials
Build the foundations and practice core user research skills
Price: £695 + VAT
Duration: 2 full days (Live online)
Dates: 7-8 September 2026
Setup: Remote, Small cohorts (9–12 people)
Experience: None required.
What you will learn:
Choose the right research method: Understand the difference between market research and user research, discovery and usability, and qualitative and quantitative methods. Use research questions to select the appropriate method and learn how to use data to inform your design, rather than second-guessing.
Plan and prepare research: Plan multiple rounds of research and write effective recruitment screeners to target the right participants. Apply informed consent, ethics, and safeguarding to your work. Draft discussion guides and learn how to use AI tools to get a head start.
Interview moderation skills: Learn the art of asking open questions, active listening and practice real world interview techniques that you can use to run productive interviews. Moderate a discovery interview and produce a user journey map. Write usability tasks that reveal actual behaviour.
Make sense of the data: Capture and record observations cleanly without rushing to early conclusions. Turn your notes into clear findings and practical next steps.
Course 2: User Research Practitioner
Run a real study, with real people, coached live.
Price: £995 + VAT
Dates: 9-10 September 2026
Duration: 2 full days (Live online)
Setup: Remote, with real participants
Requirement: Completion of our User Research Essentials training, or equivalent industry experience.
What you will learn:
Scope the study: Turn a project brief into clear, defensible objectives. Manage stakeholder expectations early and clarify exactly what your research can and cannot answer.
Run live sessions with real users: Pilot your approach to iron out any issues early. Moderate live sessions with external participants recruited specifically for the course. Learn how to handle unexpected or challenging behaviours calmly.
Debrief and analyse: Coordinate observers and share notes efficiently. Review and adapt your approach between sessions. Use AI for fast transcription and initial analysis, then check it thoroughly against what actually happened.
Deliver findings that land: Move from raw data to clear, robust themes. Prioritise findings by evidence and business impact. Present a compelling research story built to GDS and industry benchmarks so your team can take action.
Take both courses - save £195!
Essentials builds your foundation. Practitioner puts those skills to work on a live project with real users. Book the full 4-day pathway for complete confidence and pay £1,495 instead of £1,690 for both courses.
Meet your instructor
Tom has spent more than 15 years planning, moderating and leading user research for government, charities and commercial organisations. Rather than teaching theory from a textbook, every exercise on these courses comes from real projects he's delivered himself.
Tom Devlin
“As someone who is new to UX, the user research training helped empower me to be confident in my role, whilst also equipping me with key skills. It has significantly supported my work as a content designer.
I would recommend this course to both seasoned professionals and those new to the profession. It's a great way to refresh your skills or have an introduction and overview of the progression and the high standards involved.
Tom as a trainer was excellent. He is very personable, easy to approach, and is an expert in what he does.”
Jodie Bibb
UX Designer at Capgemini
Register your place
Why train with us?
Industry-standard research techniques
Our extensive experience working on user research projects for government, public and private sectors has enabled us to develop training based on a range of real world projects.
Project-ready
By focusing on outcomes and using practical, hands-on learning and a range of teaching and assessment methods, you can be confident that you’ll be project ready after completing the course
Learn by doing
We use a mix of short presentations, group discussions, paired activities and real research sessions.
Teaching and learning standards
This course is designed using OFQUAL (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) standards for Level 4 learning outcomes, with scope to stretch and challenge learners to higher levels.
Our education and training specialist is IQA (Internal Qualified Assurers) qualified and they have quality checked and ratified the level of assessment and learning outcomes.
We also use principles of the government’s recommended competency frameworks for further quality, specifically ‘SFIA Version 8 (Skills Framework for the Information Age):
Principles of User Research Level 4’. For more information, see:
About UserLab
We’re a dedicated user-experience (UX) research agency that specialises in mixed-methods research and practical UX training.
We work with public, private and charitable sectors, and our work is underpinned by a well developed and robust methodology.
